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Mullissa Willette wins CalPERS Board of Administration race
In a win for workers across California, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration adds another working-class voice to its ranks. Mullissa Willette, a tax exemption investigator for the Santa Clara County Assessor’s Office and the First Vice-President of SEIU Local 521, won the Special Public Agency Member Election with 7,972 votes, or 62.15 percent of the vote. The new term of office begins immediately upon certification of the official election results by the Secretary of State and will expire on January 15, 2027.
Adjunct faculty at Santa Clara University win unprecedented union election agreement with SEIU 1021
They have been organizing their union since 2017.
On Friday, April 22, 2022, adjunct faculty members and lecturers at Santa Clara University (SCU) filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), requesting a formal election process to create a union with SEIU 1021 at SCU. The adjuncts and lecturers have been organizing their union since 2017.
Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District classified staff ratify strong contract
They will be seeing big improvements to wages and longevity pay, as well as one-time stipends
Last week, SEIU 1021 members at Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District (CRPUSD) voted on a tentative agreement (TA) reached with the district after they participated in a six-day sympathy strike with the teachers of Rohnert Park Cotati Educators Association (RPCEA) in March.
Old bosses, new organizing
The labor movement sees a resurgent, militant push to organize big tech, big coffee, and big food
May 16, 2022: A sleeping working-class giant is awakening from its slumber. In more ways than one, the labor movement is striking back by taking on new organizing opportunities against some old foes. Nearly half a million workers went on strike in 2018 and 2019, the most significant numbers in three decades. The militancy continues with workers fighting for the right to form a union, win higher wages, and secure better benefits. The result: a strike wave and a rising tide of worker power taking down the most challenging foes.
We’re going to fight like hell to save Laguna Honda Hospital
Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), who provide the vast majority of our funding, have conducted site visits and an investigation into a number of on-site infractions. As a result, the hospital is required to implement a Closure and Patient Transfer and Relocation Plan while we all continue to work towards recertification.
SEIU 1021 members at John George Psychiatric Hospital say: “NOT ONE MORE ASSAULT”
John George Psychiatric Hospital is Alameda County’s only emergency mental health care facility, where patients experiencing mental health issues can be treated. Unfortunately, understaffing and mismanagement have put John George in a crisis situation, in which nearly 250 assaults have taken place recently, with patients and workers alike the victims of violence.
The vote is in—SF Citywide members have voted overwhelming by 96% to accept our tentative agreement with the City!
On April 18, we reached a tentative agreement with the City and County of San Francisco for our next Citywide contract. The 10% wage increase we won is the largest two-year wage increase that San Francisco workers have ever received.
“Direct action gets the goods” say Progress Foundation members who win themselves a new agreement
SEIU 1021 members at Progress Foundation, a nonprofit in San Francisco providing community—based behavioral and mental health services, recently ratified a new agreement with management. The new agreement contains a number of victories for members including:
In Alameda County, Management Says “Heroes Work Here” but They Aren’t Acting Like It
On Tuesday, April 26, hundreds of SEIU 1021 members from across Alameda County rallied outside a closed session of the Board of Supervisors to call for the sacrifices of members to be honored. The pandemic has led to an increased need for the vital services that frontline workers provide. Whether we’re called “public servants,” “disaster workers,” or “heroes,” it’s clear that we deserve recognition and that the County must invest in and reward its dedicated workforce.
Thousands of union members march on SF City Hall in honor of International Workers’ Day
The 2022 May Day march recreated the 1934 march down Market Street
On Sunday May 1, thousands of workers from around the Bay Area marched down Market Street from Embarcadero to San Francisco’s Civic Center to commemorate International Workers’ Day in a recreation of the famous 1934 May Day March. The march, which was sponsored by several Bay Area labor councils, concluded with a rally at City Hall.
Contra Costa County workers march on Board of Supervisors to fight understaffing
On Tuesday, April 26, 2202, Contra Costa County workers urged the Board of Supervisors to address Contra Costa’s staffing crisis, as hundreds of workers marched to the Board of Supervisors Administration Building during the regularly scheduled Board meeting. The march included workers who staff the public hospital, clinics, and COVID test sites and workers who maintain the County’s streets, safeguard the environment, and keep the libraries and courts open.
SF nonprofit workers fight for increased funding for services and pay parity for their work
As many of San Francisco’s nonprofit union workers get set to bargain new contracts this year, a unifying problem is emerging across employers and worksites—we need a greater investment in services provided, and we need pay parity between nonprofit and public workers providing similar services.
Sac City Schools Staff Vote by 99.8% to Ratify New Contract
Sacramento City Unified School District classified staff – including school bus drivers, nutrition service workers, instructional aides, custodians, and clerical staff – have voted by over 99% to ratify the tentative agreement they reached April 4 following a strike that shut down schools for eight days.
The agreement, which must be approved by the SCUSD Board of Education, contains significant victories, including:
Adjunct Faculty and Lecturers at Beloved Silicon Valley Institution Santa Clara University File for a Union Election with the National Labor Relations Board
Media Contact: Chris Flink, chris.flink at seiu1021.org, 510.701.9637
The rising tide of unionization comes to higher education in Silicon Valley, hoping to help fix the “gig-ification” of being a college professor.
Santa Clara, California — On Friday, April 22, 2022, adjunct faculty members and lecturers at Santa Clara University (SCU) filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), requesting a formal election process to found a union at SCU. The adjuncts and lecturers have been organizing the union since 2017.
Gig workers speak out about new Uber, Lyft policy making face masks optional
With zero worker input, Uber and Lyft have now made wearing face masks optional for riders and drivers. The ride-hailing companies announced the new policy unilaterally last week, shortly after several significant airlines announced a similar change in policy. The changes come after a federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods.
Statement from Theresa Rutherford, SEIU 1021 VP of San Francisco, on recent developments at Laguna Honda Hospital
The following statement can be attributed to Theresa Rutherford, a Certified Nursing Assistant at Laguna Honda Hospital who is the elected Vice President of San Francisco for SEIU 1021:
As Tax Day Approaches, SEIU 1021 Members Call on Corporations to Pay Their Fair Share
Tax Day is April 18. The day is an opportunity for us to call on corporations to pay the taxes they owe. We live in the richest country on earth. We know we have the resources to provide good schools, affordable housing, and safe communities for everyone. Yet, we are two years into a global pandemic that has devastated communities of color, killed more than 900,000 people across our country, and deeply divided our communities, while corporations are reaping massive profits. Working people are fed up. We are coming together to say: Enough is enough!
CCA Staff, Adjuncts Ratify Contract with Big Improvements
Last week, staff and adjunct faculty at California College of the Arts voted overwhelmingly—by 98% and 96% respectively–to ratify the tentative agreements reached in the wake of a four-day unfair labor practice (ULP) strike February 8-11. The contract is the first for CCA staff, who voted by a supermajority to form a union with SEIU 1021 in 2019, and the second for CCA adjuncts, who formed their union with SEIU 1021 in 2014.
Rising gas prices underscores the need for gig workers to unionize
With rising gas prices comes heating tensions. Already struggling with the effects of California’s Proposition 22 and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, gig workers for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and beyond face a new obstacle: the gas pump.